Background Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic, idiopathic, inflammatory, gastrointestinal disorders. The endocannabinoid system may have a role in the pathogenesis of IBD. We aimed to assess whether cannabis treatment influences endocannabinoids (eCBs) level and clinical symptoms of IBD patients. Methods Blood samples and biopsies were taken from IBD patients treated by either cannabis or placebo for 8 weeks. Immunohistochemistry for N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine-selective phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) expression was done on colon biopsies, and sample levels of anandamide (AEA), eCB2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), arachidonic acid (AA), palmitoylethanolamine (PEA), and oleoylethanolamine (OEA) were measured in patient's sera before and after cannabis treatment. Caco-2 cells were cultured with extracts of cannabis with/without tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and their proteins extracted, and Western blotting for NAPE-PLD and FAAH expression was done. Results Thirteen patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and nine patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were treated with cannabis. Seventeen patients with CD and 10 with UC served as placebo groups. In all CD patients, the levels of eCBs remained unaltered during the treatment period. In UC patients treated with placebo, but not in those treated with cannabis, the levels of PEA, AEA, and AA decreased significantly. The percent reduction in bowel movements was negatively correlated with changes observed in the circulating AEA and OEA, whereas improvement in quality of life was positively correlated with the levels of 2-AG. In the biopsies from UC patients, FAAH levels increased over the study period. In Caco-2 cells, both cannabis extracts increased NAPE-PLD levels but reduced FAAH expression levels. Conclusion Our study supports the notion that cannabis use affects eCB "tone" in UC patients and may have beneficial effects on disease symptoms in UC patients.

中文翻译：

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溃疡性结肠炎患者的内源性大麻素水平与临床参数相关，并受大麻消费的影响。

背景炎症性肠病 (IBD) 是慢性、特发性、炎症性胃肠道疾病。内源性大麻素系统可能在 IBD 的发病机制中起作用。我们旨在评估大麻治疗是否会影响 IBD 患者的内源性大麻素 (eCBs) 水平和临床症状。方法 对接受大麻或安慰剂治疗 8 周的 IBD 患者进行血样和活检。对结肠活检进行 N-酰基-磷脂酰乙醇胺选择性磷脂酶 D (NAPE-PLD) 和脂肪酸酰胺水解酶 (FAAH) 表达的免疫组织化学，以及 anandamide (AEA)、eCB2-花生四烯酰甘油 (2-AG)、花生四烯酸的样品水平在大麻治疗前后，对患者血清中的酸 (AA)、棕榈酰乙醇胺 (PEA) 和油酰乙醇胺 (OEA) 进行了测量。Caco-2 细胞与含/不含四氢大麻酚 (THC) 的大麻提取物一起培养，并提取其蛋白质，并进行 NAPE-PLD 和 FAAH 表达的蛋白质印迹。结果 13 名克罗恩病 (CD) 患者和 9 名溃疡性结肠炎 (UC) 患者接受了大麻治疗。17 名 CD 患者和 10 名 UC 患者作为安慰剂组。在所有 CD 患者中，eCBs 的水平在治疗期间保持不变。在接受安慰剂治疗的 UC 患者中，但在接受大麻治疗的患者中，PEA、AEA 和 AA 的水平显着下降。排便减少百分比与循环 AEA 和 OEA 中观察到的变化呈负相关，而生活质量的改善与 2-AG 水平呈正相关。在 UC 患者的活检中，FAAH 水平在研究期间有所增加。在 Caco-2 细胞中，两种大麻提取物都增加了 NAPE-PLD 水平，但降低了 FAAH 表达水平。结论 我们的研究支持大麻使用会影响 UC 患者的 eCB “音调”并可能对 UC 患者的疾病症状产生有益影响的观点。